32
Amanda wasn’t five minutes in the shower before her body started shivering uncontrollably. It could have been the medication, but it felt more like Layna. Throwing on a robe, she poked her head into the galley and saw Layna lying in Sky’s chair, her wings extended and draped over one side, a glowing Confluence stone in her hand.
“Careful. You’ll punch a hole in the realms,” Amanda griped, knocking the hot stone from her hand. By the time it landed in the fruit bowl, it had stopped glowing. Layna pursed her lips—a move that accentuated the changing length of her face—and fingered the stone again. She took a pear instead, bit into it, then licked at the exposed flesh.
“You used it. You used it to make your people invisible,” Layna said. “I didn’t think you had spirit power.”
“I don’t,” Amanda said. “I used it to borrow yours. I sent them to the other realm where we were, so they could get here without anyone seeing.”
“Can all humans do that?” Layna asked. “You just steal power with this rock.”
“No. Just me,” Amanda said. “A half-breed—someone like you—kind of killed me and brought me back to life, and now I can do this… weird thing.”
“So, you’re not entirely human,” Layna said.
Leaving the door open, Amanda found some fresh clothes and dressed quickly. She wanted to crawl into bed, but she heard a clatter in the bay. The others had reached the Confluence point and found a way to send a signal.
“They’re here,” Amanda said, running her hand along Layna’s wing, tapping into her power to bring the crew back to this realm. She heard Tray swearing and Morrigan barking orders.
Tray carried Hawk across his shoulders, and they rushed through the lower hatch to the infirmary. Saskia knelt on the floor next to a second patient.
“Saskia, are you all right?” Amanda called.
“I thought we were going to be trapped there forever,” Saskia panted, digging her fingernails against her temple. She pointed to the man on the floor. “Watch him. Let me know if he wakes up.”
Saskia gave one last look to the man on the ground, then ran to the infirmary. Amanda hooked a pulse rifle to her belt and trotted down the stairs to see their new guest. She’d seen him before, when they were getting their clothes. His bruises looked worse. He didn’t have clothes, and there were knife slashes on his skin. The sight of blood made Amanda yearn for Galen’s help and healing. How many times had she cut her own skin trying to get back to him?
“Prince!” Layna exclaimed, flying down the stairs. Literally.
Tray yelped and stumbled back through the door of the lower deck hatch. Layna folded her wings and knelt next to the Prince, her hands hovering helplessly as she struggled to process his pain.
“You call my parents cruel and you do this?” Layna cried.
“We brought him here to help him,” Tray said calmly, picking up the blanket and stretcher he’d dropped when he fell. “Your people did this.”
“Liar,” Layna moaned. “You’re all liars.”
“Look at the words carved on his skin. I don’t know what they mean. Do you?” Tray asked. He shook out the blanket and covered the Prince’s body. Layna seemed to relax at the offer of dignity. She quickly arranged the blanket to come to the Prince’s chin.
“Infirmary?” Amanda asked, indicating the stretcher.
“Only if you feel strong enough to help me lift him,” Tray said, sitting next to them. His shirt was off, his pants were dripping wet, and his hand was bleeding. Amanda got the first aid kit by the door, but the knitter wasn’t inside. They must have used it for some other emergency and forgotten.
“Do you think the water can help? Or the light? The special light?” Layna whispered.
“You might have the power in you. Galen does. He can see pain and he undoes it,” Amanda said.
“With the Confluence?” she asked.
“He’s broken enough bones. Let’s not put a grav-source on him,” Tray said.
Layna’s jaw set in determination. She ran to the box, threw it open, and was instantly knocked backward. Her wings caught the air and she screeched as she flew, covering her ears with her hands. The sound roused Corin and he whimpered in terror.
“Layna, what’s wrong?” Amanda asked, catching her by the foot, coaxing her back to the ground.
“I hear my mom. She’s in pain,” she said, knocking her cheek on Amanda’s shoulder. She ran for the back door, but Amanda held her back.
“Amanda, let her go,” Tray said, but it was too late. Amanda and Layna were back in the other realm and in the air.
The force lifted off of Collette’s neck and she flailed, trying to fend off her attacker. Her arms felt like led weights.
“That’s it. Breathe,” someone coached, speaking Trade. One of the travelers knelt over her, cradling her head. It was Amanda—the one Gossard had accused of kidnapping.
“Questre. Questre. Mother,” Collette gasped, fighting the dark spots in her vision.
“I know,” Amanda said. She looked far more pedestrian than she had yesterday, like a shepherd ready to fight a wolf. Behind her was the corporeal spirit creature. Up close, the spirit had human features, but her pointed teeth and sharp claws marked her as a predator. Her wings unfurled and she rushed at Collette, claws bared.
“Why do you insist on killing them?” she hissed, speaking Nolan. “Why do you try so hard to make their lives miserable? Can’t you let us be?”
Collette realized the girl had come to protect her mother. Anna had said she was only twelve, but she was massive, towering at least seven feet. And alien.
“She tried to kill me,” Collette rasped, grasping Amanda’s arms, ready to throw the traveler at the beast. “She tried, because I refused to kill you.”
“I don’t believe you,” the girl said.
Amanda didn’t seem frightened, and Collette took that as a sign that the creature was not as dangerous as she looked. She was a hurt child, and Collette might be able to console her.
“She didn’t refuse to kill you. She just didn’t know how,” Anna glowered, rubbing her bruised fists, ready to attack again. “Don’t trust her, Layna.”
“She is the liar, Layna,” Collette said, fumbling for the emergency alert on her wrist to call the Prince of Law. He’d seen her premonition and thought the spirit would find Collette at the Palace, but it was here.
“I won’t let you sully her name. She helps people. She works for the Chief of Safety. She sends help!” Layna growled.
“Layna, her guards are coming!” Amanda said, speaking Trade. “Look!”
Layna folded her wings and they seemed to vanish behind her. But then, the burnt textile building vanished, too, as did the approaching service officers. They were in the woods.
“Where did we go?” Collette asked. The land was empty, just like in the premonition she’d shared with Amanda yesterday.
Layna smirked, letting her wings show again. “My realm.”
“Kill her, Layna,” Anna ordered, flanking her daughter. Her Questre eyes seemed to glow in this realm. “Let her guards find her dead. She’s the one that’s leading the charge against the spirits. Kill her.”
“Why do I have to kill her? I’m a kid!” Layna exclaimed, throwing her hands up.
“That’s what your kind do,” Anna said, pushing Layna toward Collette again. “You kill. You take lives. Kill her the way your parents killed me.”
“Don’t listen to her. You don’t want to be a killer. You have a choice Layna,” Collette begged.
“My parents didn’t kill you. They protect you. They let you live forever. Spirits are kind,” Layna insisted.
“Lies,” Anna seethed. “Look at you. Disgusting. Child of rape. I never wanted to be Questre. I didn’t choose to be the parent of a beast. I wanted a human child. I never consented to conceiving something like you!”
“If you don’t love them, then tell them to leave. Tell your spirit to leave,” Layna said, her voice squeaking.
“I tried. For decades, I tried,” Anna said.
Layna grabbed her mother’s hand and light radiated from between their palms. Then Anna fell to the ground. “There. I did it. I told them,” Layna said, dropping to her knees and gasping.
“What happened? What did you do?” Amanda asked, taking the language back to Trade as she rushed to check on Anna.
“I made the spirit leave,” Layna smiled. Then she looked at her mother. “Now she can be what she wants. Parents get divorced all the time, but we’re still family.”
“It can be done,” Collette whispered incredulously. It was possible to separate spirits from humans and exile them from Nola!
Amanda crawled over to check, but Collette could see the body was gray. “She’s dead,” Amanda said.
Layna went white as a sheet. “She can’t be. No! Mom!” Layna cried, shaking her mother’s body.
Amanda backed away, hugged her knees, and closed her eyes, looking ready to break down. Collette took stock of her own physical condition. She was bruised from the fight and every breath brought tears to her eyes. She needed a doctor, but there was no one around in Layna’s realm. There were birds and bugs, but not a single human structure.
“Can we get back without her?” Collette asked, scooting closer to Amanda.
“We can’t leave her. She’s just a kid,” Amanda said, lifting her head, then shaking as she averted her eyes. “I’ve seen a hybrid destroy a town in a fit of grief. I think a half-breed could take out a continent.”
“Look at me. Look!” Layna screeched, grabbing Collette by the hair. “You think you’re cursed by your Questre parent? Look at me! It’s because of your stupid vendetta that they can’t reveal themselves. It’s because of your stupid Festival that I was born!”
“Then we’ll stop Festival,” Collette said. “I’m the Magistrate. I’ll make it happen. Get me back to my people, and I will give the order. As of today.”
Layna’s talons dug into Collette’s scalp.
“And I will protect you,” Collette said. “You will be a savior to our people. You can separate the humans from the Questre, so there will be no more who are cursed.”
Layna dropped Collette and ran back to her mother, then she stopped cold, as if seeing the body for the first time. “Oh, no. Mom? I killed her,” she whispered.
“You have to take me back,” Collette begged Amanda.
“I don’t have to do anything for you,” Amanda said.
33
Saskia’s muscles were stiff and aching from hauling their prisoner back to the ship. It felt like her lungs had shrunk to an incredibly small size, and it took most of her energy to stay upright while she walked. Morrigan had assured her she wouldn’t fall victim to the catamenses, but the scarred remains of her uterus seemed intent on cramping.
She heard a scream from the bay.
“Saskia!” Tray hollered.
Saskia exchanged a look with Morrigan. “I can handle Hawk. Go,” Morrigan assured.
Saskia ran to the bay, glad to see Corin awake and sitting up. The young prince had a stricken look, and both he and Tray stared at the same spot on the wall. Saskia hoped they were not entering a hallucination phase of the Festival drug’s side effects.
“Amanda?” she called when she realized she didn’t see the woman.
“She’s gone. A half-breed took her,” Tray said. Corin muttered to himself in Nolan, clutching his head like he was trying to claw out his own eyes.
“Disappeared? Again?” Saskia sighed.
“She has a problem,” Tray nodded. He exchanged a look with Saskia and they both burst out laughing despite themselves. Saskia’s mouth watered with lust and she strode toward Tray, licking her lips. Tray ducked away and fanned his dripping wet shirt.
“Are you ready to carry him?” Saskia asked.
Tray shook his head. “Prince, can you walk?”
“Don’t make him walk. He’s probably bleeding internally after what he’s been through,” Saskia said, swatting Tray’s shoulder. Her whole body got hot, and the naked man on the floor wasn’t helping. Tray noticed her staring and quickly reset Corin’s blanket.
“Can our doctor take a look at you?” Saskia asked the Prince.
“You won’t tell my parents, will you?” he asked, touching the wounds on his arms.
“That we saved your life?” Tray asked.
“Not if you don’t want,” Saskia said. “We’re going to lift you for just a moment to get you on this board. We’ll take you to a proper bed so our doctor can treat you.”
Corin grunted as he scooted onto the board, favoring his broken ribs. By the time they had the board under him, his eyes were rolling back in his head. Tray pushed his head to the board and told him to pass out if he needed to. They got him to the infirmary and situated him on the side bed. Saskia helped Morrigan move the scanner into place so they could see the extent of his internal injuries.
“I thought we’d lost you,” Tray said to Hawk, cradling the man’s face.
“He cut my hair,” Hawk said, shaking in fear.
“It’ll grow back,” Tray promised, running his hand over the long part. It was shorter on the right, and some of his skin had been sheared off with the hair. “It’ll heal. I’m glad you’re breathing.”
“Corin?” Hawk asked.
“He’s breathing fine. He didn’t inhale as much water as you,” Morrigan said, sliding a monitor over Corin. “Some of his injuries are months old.”
“I have a few more people to rescue. I might ask for your help later,” Tray said.
“You know where to find me,” Hawk panted, his eyes closing, his head dropping like a lead weight.
“Saskia, I need you in that guard uniform. Morrigan, the Prince’s face needs to be presentable,” Tray ordered. He turned on his heels and ran out.
“You can’t be thinking of sending him back,” Morrigan said, grabbing Saskia’s arm.
“We’re still working on the plan. If nothing else, we need a translator,” Saskia said, looking at Morrigan’s hand, imagining it was Tray’s. If the crew weren’t in mortal danger, she’d risk the Detox. Rushing upstairs, she showered off the mud and river water, then shook out the stolen, crumpled uniform. There were spatters of blood on the sleeve that probably belonged to Corin and Hawk, and the smell of sweat made her dizzy. The pants were too big and given this dome’s attention to tailoring, she’d stand out like a sore thumb.
She went to her room to get dry boots and stopped at the door. Tray lay on the bed, Virclutch in hand, his toes wriggling as he fiddled with something on the computer. It was his room, too, but it still felt like he was intruding.
“I can’t reach Danny,” he said, pulling the Feather from his ear and slamming it on the pillow. “They’re repeating the same broadcast on all frequencies. I’m guessing they’re telling their people to be on the look-out for us.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Saskia said. “We did leave a naked guard by the river.”
Tray chuckled and looked at her. “You look really sexy in that uniform.”
Saskia shivered, the lust rippling through her. “Later. You promised.”
“But our bed is here now,” he said, lying back, rubbing his hands over his abdomen. Saskia looked away. She couldn’t relax until this rescue was over.
“We can’t send Corin back,” Saskia said, going to the closet to get her boots.
“We can’t kidnap him. If he wants to leave, he’s going to have to tell the Magistrates on his own,” Tray said.
“He was beaten by a uniformed guard. Not just today. Morrigan said he’s been accumulating injuries for months. If he hasn’t asked his parents for protection by now, chances are he can’t,” Saskia pointed out. “He wasn’t just cut. There were words carved into his skin. What if the Magistrates don’t want him back?”
“They wouldn’t abandon their son,” Tray said. Then he stuttered. “I would never do that to my son. I would never…”
Saskia’s heart
went out to him, followed by her hand. He had on a baggy, green sweater that felt too rough and worn to have come from his own closet. He’d packed light for this trip, and he should have been home with his son by now.
“I’m doing it right now,” Tray whispered, putting a hand over hers. “I abandoned my son.”
“You talk to him every day. You fight for every conversation. You have not abandoned him,” Saskia said. She leaned her forehead against his. “Plan, Tray. We need a plan.”
Tray grunted in frustration and threw himself onto his stomach, smashing his face against the pillow. Then he picked up his Virclutch and she felt her Virp vibrate against her wrist. “I’ve found a frequency we can use. When you get to the Palace, you should be close enough to get them a Virp-to-Virp message. The script will change their Virps to this frequency, then they can tell us what’s going on inside.”
“Assuming they still have their clothes,” she muttered.
Tray took a deep breath, knowing their plan was tenuous at best.
“Just being realistic, babe,” she said, attempting a deep breath of her own. It was difficult to draw air into her lungs without feeling fire in her belly.
“I prefer fantasy. You know, the fantasy where my brother will actually be here when he says he’ll see me on the ship,” Tray said. Saskia rolled her eyes, but then she realized that Tray was in his brother’s sweater, and she felt sad for him.
“What if they call our bluff? What if they kill him?” Tray asked. Saskia realized that the last thing he needed was a dose of realism.
“He won’t die on my watch. Just promise me you’ll stay here on the ship until I get back?” she said. She gave him a good-bye kiss, which instantly turned to a steamy battle of tongues. The combination of desperation, lust, and relief at his touch overwhelmed her senses. She climbed on top of him and he rolled off the bed trying to get to the top position. On their way to the ground, she banged her head against the nightstand and got a little bit of sense knocked into her.
Premonition: A Space Opera Adventure Series (The New Dawn Book 7) Page 23